"And now, for the god of war,” the god of the forge said. “I have done my best to create something that you will appreciate.” He produced two longswords from his inventory.
* * *
Name: Peace * War +4
Type: Dual Swords
Rarity: A Grade
Physical Attack: 307
Magic Attack: 129
Special Ability: Warlord's Debate
Attack Speed: Normal
Durability: 121,000/121,000
Weight: 2,100st.
Description: A couple of perfectly balanced longswords crafted in the forge of Mount Olympus by Hephaestus, the god of the forge. The metal used has been compressed and enriched by the mana ley lines that run through the immortal mountain, while the eternal flames in its bowels have made the material very susceptible to enchantment. The Peace sword represents the steady, unnerving, and never-ending pull of civilizations toward war. When this sword is unsheathed, thoughts of mistrust, greed, and fanaticism are projected toward the enemies of the wielder. The War sword symbolizes the ravaging hurricane of civilizations clashing with each other and fighting for what they believe is right or rightfully theirs. When this sword is unsheathed, thoughts of despair and angst are projected toward the enemies of the wielder. When both swords are unsheathed, all enemies within view of the wielder are faced with pressing feelings of terror, anguish, and paranoia.
* * *
"A weapon encapsulating the very essence of war, and the nature of all living things," Ares said, and bowed deeply before accepting the weapons. "I could never have asked for a better set of swords."
"I’m glad you like them," Hephaestus replied. "I thought long and hard about what you might find interesting in a pair of swords, what it is that defines you. And from what I understand, it’s not the battle or the mobilizing of troops that makes your blood boil. It’s the inevitability of it, and how fast you can spin the wheel before it reaches war again."
"That’s one of the best interpretations of my motives I’ve heard so far," Ares said. "And with these swords, I’ll be able to do just that. Even faster."
"In that case, it's time to take care of the last weapon you will ever need, Zeus," Hephaestus said, moving toward his anvil. "Your titan-killer."
"Hold on a minute," I said. "What about your weapon? Didn't you craft something for yourself?"
"I did. We all need to be outfitted as well as possible before we attack Mount Orthys. But I don't suppose you'd be interested in my hammer."
"Of course we are interested, darling!" Aphrodite said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"She's right," Artemis agreed. "Show us what you’ve got!"
"If you’re genuinely interested, I guess I can show you," he said and pulled out a stone hammer with a metal handle as long as his whole body. "Everyone, meet Sfyra."
* * *
Name: Sfyra +3
Type: Two-Handed Blunt - Hammer
Rarity: A Grade
Physical Attack: 247
Magic Attack: 123
Special Ability: Trusted Smite
Attack Speed: Normal
Durability: 115,000/115,000
Weight: 4,800st.
Description: Sfyra is a weapon as much as a tool. A strike from Sfyra in any crafting process brings its chance of success to 100%. A strike from Sfyra on an enemy is able to stun them for 10 seconds with 100% rate of success. Sfyra is happy.
* * *
"A sure-fire way to land a stunning strike?" Artemis said, amazed by the weapon's description. "And without any limitations…"
"That will definitely be useful," I said.
"Nice to meet you, Sfyra," Aphrodite said.
"Are you talking to the hammer, sister?" Ares asked.
"She says you're beautiful," Hephaestus said, and at that point the rest of us caught on to what Aphrodite had realized immediately.
"Is Sfyra a sapient weapon?" Artemis asked.
"I don't know the limits and rules of sapience exactly, but she can talk to me and express her feelings," Hephaestus replied.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"Is that why her description says that she's happy?" I asked.
"Yes, though I've only ever seen her happy," Hephaestus said.
"Wait, you mean she's talking to you?" Ares asked.
"That she is!" he said with pride. "And I can only assume that her abilities will change according to how she's feeling."
"You are the best damn crafter the whole Apocosmos has ever seen, Hephaestus," I told him.
"And I've saved the best for last," he said, pulling us all over to the forge, where he spent most of his time.
The first thing I noticed when we entered the uncomfortably hot room where Hephaestus did his work was a long metal spear with its head inside a slowly bubbling pit of lava. This was probably the base he was going to use to create my weapon. Sure enough, he put on some gloves and pulled the spear out of the pool, revealing an almost blindingly bright spearhead at its top. I’d thought that crafting the spearhead would be the final part of this process, since I didn't believe anything could have remained solid inside the magma pit.
Clearly I was wrong. The spear was able to withstand the extreme temperatures, and the final stage of the crafting process was going to be striking all of the unique materials I’d given him into it. He placed the spearhead on an anvil, holding it in place with a pair of metal prongs and struck it once with Sfyra.
The hit echoed around the room as Hephaestus nodded at me.
"Bring me that rolling table," he said, indicating behind me with his eyes.
I turned to find a relatively small stone table with wheels, littered with thick nails, prongs, and other tools. But it wasn't the tools that he needed now. I rolled it over next to him.
"Open the box on it," he said, as he struck the spearhead again. "Place the materials on top of the spearhead, one by one."
I pushed the lid open and the weapon's recipe came back to me. The reason the spear didn’t melt in the lava was because it was made with orichalcum. And he needed to incorporate the rest of the crafting materials into it now. I started with the easiest, and relatively most mundane, of the components.
* * *
Item: Ambrosia
Type: Consumable
Durability: 1/1
Grade: A Grade
Weight: 20st.
Description: The food of immortality. Ambrosia can only be created in places of power that have been claimed by a god. A mortal or god who eats ambrosia will gain one instance of immortality. This means that if a person who has consumed it dies, they are returned back to life with full HP/MP and without losing any XP. Each individual can only consume one unit of ambrosia per day.
* * *
The golden substance melted as soon as I sprinkled it onto the spearhead, but before its essence fizzled out completely, Hephaestus brought his new hammer down with even more force than before. The speed of his strike forced the fumes that rose from the ambrosia down again, and the weapon absorbed all of it.
"Don't hesitate now!" Hephaestus said, sweat running down his temples as he pummeled the spearhead again.
I was wondering how he’d managed to put Typhon's gigantic heart into the small box but it all made sense when I scanned the orb next to the ambrosia.
* * *
Item: Heart of Typhon Orb
Type: Crafting Component
Durability: 867568/950000
Grade: A Grade
Weight: 42st.
Description: The one hundred-headed dragon Typhon, king of monsters, had lived thousands of years before being slain by Zeus, the god of thunder. The beast had given spawn to myriad new monster species with its pair, Echidna, storing a bit of their essence in each one. The essence of all of these monsters was likewise stored in the heart of their progenitor, making it stronger with each new generation and species. When used as a crafting component, the heart of Typhon can imbue an almost infinite number of attributes from these monsters. This orb is the compressed essence of the dragon's heart.
* * *
The orb was slick to the touch and slightly warm, and I could have sworn that I sensed a small vibration before I let it fall right above the glowing spearhead. The sphere melted as soon as it touched the metal and was completely squashed into it when the hammer dropped again.
It was quite obvious now that the glow was becoming more intense with every strike of Hephaestus' hammer. And more so too with each additional component added.
* * *
Item: Blood of Zeus
Type: Crafting Component
Durability: 120/120
Grade: A Grade
Weight: 16st.
Description: The blood of the thunder god, supreme monster slayer, and king of Mount Olympus. The very essence of thunder and lightning flows through the Zeus's veins and can be transferred through his blood. When used as a crafting component, the Blood of Zeus can imbue lightning attributes into the crafted item.
* * *
I picked up the long thin vial containing my blood and removed the cork. Then I watched Hephaestus pummeling the spearhead, harder and faster with each blow, and tried to time my emptying the vial with his work.
The blood evaporated almost instantly, but its fumes were also absorbed into the spearhead, which shone brightly one last time before all of its heat and luminosity seeped into the metal and disappeared. The god of the forge put Sfyra back in his inventory and looked at the weapon.
"It's done," he said, picking it up with his bare hands. "Isn't it beautiful?"
* * *
Name: The Titan-Killer
Type: Spear
Rarity: A Grade
Physical Attack: 232
Magic Attack: 114
Special Ability: End of an Era
Attack Speed: Normal
Durability: 250,000/250,000
Weight: 1,100st.
Description: Very few weapons have the power to change the face of the Apocosmos just through their existence. This spear is able to kill titans.
* * *
I ran my eyes from the bottom of its handle to the tip of its blade. It was a single metal piece with no signs of having been crafted by a smith in any way. It was as if it had always been shaped like a spear. In some ways, though, it looked like a completely mundane spear. But it was one that held a power that was truly unheard of. This was the only weapon that could bring down a titan.
The only way I could kill my father.
"Zeus, are you okay?" Aphrodite said, grabbing my arm.
"I'm fine," I said. "It’s beautiful, Hephaestus. Thank you so much."
"How about that description, though?" Ares exclaimed. "So heavy with importance."
"Do we have any enchantment scrolls left?" Artemis said, trying to ease the tense moment.
"I asked Aphrodite to have all of them brought to me," Hephaestus replied. "We still have some left, but I'd suggest nobody risks going above the safe threshold. I don't have enough time or materials to create more gear, especially weapons, if we're leaving tomorrow."
"Are we really doing this tomorrow?" Aphrodite asked.
"Shouldn't we plan more?" Artemis added.
"There's nothing more to plan," I replied. "We’ll climb up the mountain, fighting whatever stands in our way, and eventually reach the top where I'll finally have my revenge."
"Then I suppose there's nothing more for us to do now, is there?" Ares asked. "I'll just get my share of enchantment scrolls and go get some rest."
"That's probably for the best," I agreed, and looked at Aphrodite and Artemis. "Do you two have any business to take care of?"
"There's always something to do," Aphrodite replied, "but I'm sure they'll manage without us for one day."
"Just to be clear," Ares said as he started to walk away, "when I said I'm going to get some rest, I meant I'm going to have a couple drinks and relax."
"In that case, why don't you stop by our place in an hour?" I suggested.